Since 1993, the professional holiday is celebrated annually on the last Saturday of August

Ukrainians employed in the civil aviation celebrate their professional holiday, Aviation Day, on the last Saturday in August. This year, the holiday falls on August 26.

The holiday was officially established by the 1993 presidential decree. In Ukraine, celebration of the Aviation Day is commonly associated with the Air Fleet Day, observed in the Soviet Union. That holiday was established in 1933 and it annually fell on August 18 commemorating the formation of the first aviation unit of the Russian Empire in 1912. After collapse of the Soviet Union, some independent countries renamed the holiday, moved to other dates or even cancelled it. The first President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk signed a decree on establishment of Aviation Day in Ukraine, moving the date to the last Saturday in August.

Originally this day was a professional holiday of the workers of Ukrainian civil aviation, but in 1996, due to certain amendments, Aviation Day became also the holiday to honour the military aviation. Later, another presidential decree established the Air Force, that is, the professional holiday of military aviators. Thus, the Aviation Day again became a holiday praising civilian aviators and employees of aviation and transport industry in Ukraine.

Currently, Ukraine’s air traffic is composed of five areas of flight information with total area of almost 730,000 square kilometres. The country employs the united civil and military air traffic organization system.

Ukraine is one of the few countries in the world with a full cycle of processing, production and operation of advanced aircraft. The country also enjoys the effective system of state regulation of aviation area, its own core education, aircraft engineering enterprises, widespread network of airports and the modern air navigation system.